Another PhD scholar hangs self in India
AJMER, India: A 27-year-old PhD scholar at the Central University of Rajasthan (CURAJ), Mohit Chauhan, has allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in his hostel room.
The police said they have recovered some documents from his hostel room, but could not confirm if there was a suicide note. However, according to the victim’s peers, Chauhan was ‘depressed’ as he was being harassed by a senior teacher, and this could be the reason why he took the extreme step, Times of India reported.
Mohit’s suicide comes less than a month after dalit scholar Rohith Vemula committed suicide in another central university, University of Hyderabad (UoH), sparking a nationwide protest.
Umesh Kumar Jonwal, a Dalit scholar who was recently expelled from CURAJ following which he registered a case of harassment against the university, said: “Mohit was depressed for the past few days and used to tell us that his guide was harassing him. In fact, he asked me to help him on the issue just last week.”
IG (Ajmer) Malini Agrawal said: “He was with his hostel mates in the evening. He abruptly stood up in between the conversation and went to his room. When his mates phoned him for dinner, he did not take the call. After this, they went to his room to check on him and found him hanging. We are investigating what transpired between them.”
“His hostel mates got him down and rushed him to a hospital where he was declared brought dead,” the officer said.
